Author: Adam Sidiali
Found in section: Sports
Landon Donovan Was Involved In All Four Goals in LA's Win Over The Sounders
Even when the Seattle Sounders lose, and lose big, they get it right. The most unique franchise in North American professional sports added another item to its lengthy list of fan-friendly initiatives on Sunday, offering a full refund to season ticket holders after a depressing 4-0 loss to Los Angeles at Qwest Field.
“That wasn’t Sounders soccer and it was quite frankly embarrassing, humiliating and the fans don’t deserve that,” GM Adrian Hanauer said. “We want our fans committed for the long haul and we think this is the right thing to do for our fans.”
The refund isn’t exactly cash going back into the people’s pockets; it will come in the form of credit toward a fan’s 2011 season ticket package, but it’s still a significant concession from the club, which has about 32,000 season ticket holders. The Galaxy loss will cost the Sounders well over $1 million in self-proclaimed penalties.
The 2010 season hasn’t started nearly as well as expected. Picked by most to improve on last year’s third place finish and quarterfinal playoff exit, the inconsistent Sounders have plateaued to a 2-3-3 record that now includes two defeats at home, only loosing twice at Qwest Field through the entire 2009 campaign.
Sunday’s decision surely was the result of some pent-up frustration inside a very ambitious managing office.
“It’s been tough,” coach Sigi Schmid told reporters. “The bad news is we’re in last place. The good news is we’re one point out of a playoff position, and if we were in the Eastern Conference we’d be a couple points out of second, but reality is we’re in last place and for us we have higher standards than that.”
Sounders fans apparently have pretty high standards as well. Rather than demonstrate the combination of shock and boundless appreciation one would think should accompany such a unique gesture by a professional sports team, fans posting on the club’s website seemed to feel that the refund was either a misguided attempt to purchase their loyalty or a waste of funds that should be directed toward a charity or acquiring better players. Is that the lack of perspective that pushes the Sounders skeptics out there? I had always thought it was simply envy.
As pro sports in the United States continue to slide into the increasingly inaccessible seat-license/$12-beer-and-$35-to-park abyss, the fact that any franchise would spend either a minute or a dollar on some kind of real solidarity with its fan base is worth celebrating. Nobody demanded a refund following Saturday’s defeat.
Could someone find fault in the Sounders’ gesture if they really wanted to? Sure. Perhaps the club splashed the announcement across its home page in cynical plea for publicity, or perhaps the million dollars could be better spent.
But this is an organization that, from the start, has practiced what it preaches. Sounders fans have a unique voice in their club. From the initial push to maintain the city’s traditional soccer nickname to the group of supporters, the Sounders FC Alliance, that can vote to replace the GM every four years, Sounders fans constitute a more important part of their franchise than those of any other team in any other sport in this country. The atmosphere at games is unique, festive, and represents a singular collaboration between club management and the grass roots.
Whether it was a call for publicity or a true gesture from the heart, the Sounders management took one for the team this time and made the right call to refund over $1 one million to season ticket holders for their miserable loss Saturday.
